The revelation of Vosbaugh's birth gender at the hospital briefly became national news, inspiring sensational articles in papers from Los Angeles to New York, and more in-depth coverage in papers in the Rocky Mountains, none of which agree on any of the particulars of Vosbaugh's story, beyond that he immigrated from France as a child, arrived in Trinidad at some point with a wife, and lived on the sheep ranch for decades.

We dug through archives and historical societies in Denver and Trinidad in a quest to flesh out the scant details of this extraordinary life. We learned that Frenchy's wife's name was Emma; found the property records for the house that they bought together; and through the Missouri State Archives found record of their legal marriage in 1877.